Gone Too Far: Why Orlando MUST trade Dwight Howard

One source close to the situation told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher that the Magic have promised Howard that they will add a quality player before Thursday’s deadline and that Howard can decide the fate of both GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy at the end of the season if he signs an extension.

Today, reports are surfacing that Magic President Alex Martin has told Howard he can decide the fate of coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith.

Sadly, the inmate is now running the entire asylum.

Van Gundy and Smith may deserve to be fired. This is not Howard’s decision to make, though. He is the player. Van Gundy is the coach. Smith is the manager.

If Martin offered to fire Van Gundy and Smith to appease Howard, then a point of no return has been established.

Simply put, Howard can’t return. Suppose he signed an extension with the Magic. No coach, executive, or teammate would criticize him because doing so may get them fired, traded, or released.

Bottom line: good organizations do not operate in such a fashion.

So Magic ownership must intervene. They must empower Smith to immediately get the best possible package for Howard – even if that’s 80 or 90 cents on the dollar – because keeping him would encourage dysfunction.

Then ownership must review how the entire organization, top to bottom, has handled ‘Howard-gate’ and make changes. Appeasing an NBA superstar is a disease that must be cured.